New build thread #1337 :)

Hi peeps.

Its time to retire my current computer,which is now over 6 years old. I've stayed with the same motherboard,but gone through Windows 98-XP, 3 CPUs and 4 Graphics cards. It even plays oblivion (just!)

For the last 3 years Ive been saying to myself I'll buy a new PC soon...but I never did, as there is always something better coming soon.

So I`m bored of waiting, I'm going to build myself a PC NOW

I'll use my PC for mostly gaming, but also I do dabble with other things such as music, encoding and general surfing. I would like it to be fairly quiet and I do not plan on overclocking, although I might do a little bit later.

I also would like the mobo to be upgradeable, so it should at least take the 1333Mhz Intel CPUs coming out later this year (and hopefully later revisions, but I guess this is unlikely). Maybe in a year or 2 I will upgrade the memory to 4GB,add/upgrade the graphics card, and go quad core.

I`ll go with XP first but maybe in 6 months I`ll add vista(dual boot)

So here are the bits I have decided on so far, although I am open to suggestions/comments:
______
intel E6600 CPU:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=430633

Asus P5N-E mobo:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=529752

G.Skill 2GB DDR2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =MY-018-GS

Western Digital 400GB HDD:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=455420

leadtek 8800GTS 640MB:
http://www.lowestonweb.com/product [...] 35DCD5BA0D

Akasa Zen:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=446040

Creative Xi-Fi Music Soundcard:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=421270

Lite-On DVD/CD Writer:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=551735

Belinea 2225S1W 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] =MO-006-BE
OR
Daewoo 22" widescreen
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=534301

Corsair HX 620W PSU:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pro [...] tID=446787

+floppy and basic keyboard/mouse(not into fancy stuff..)

I`ll be getting most of my stuff from scan as they give me free delivery, but they dont always have the best prices for graphics cards/memory.
____________

Any help/comments appreciated.

note - Ive not built a PC in 4 years so I`m kinda a noob to this

Thanks

Ya, ditch that case. You're spending all this money on a great system and you put it in a garbage case? Ouch. Spend an extra 30 quid and get something respectable and more functional.

Do you really need the soundcard? That'll save you some money there.

Aftermarket heatsink is a good idea for your setup. Noctua fans are the BEST and QUIETEST on the market...I only use them

Thanks for the input all. I knew people would cuss the Akasa Zen case ; but from what I`ve heard its not bad - its fairly quiet and decent design considering its dirt cheap. I have a feeling the other cases would be about the same standard. Might go for the Coolermaster Centurion though.

Spending £40ish on a cooler might be too much for my needs - how is the stock cooler for sound? If it is awful I`ll get a cheapish aftermarket HSF

Yeah the sound card is quite pricy, but I plan on making music and I know the onboard sound will be pretty poor.

Is the PN5-E motherboard for me? - I guess I dont need an expensive board as I'm not gonna overclock much or need that many "features".

Thanks for the tip.

Yes, from my experience 80mm case fans are to be avoided, they are a little noisy (I have about 5 in my curretn case!)

What I might do is go with the stock HSF, I can always add a better cooler later If I dont like it

Anyone have any experience with the P5N-E motherboard? Should I spend a bit more on probably the most important part of my system?

Seems all motherboards have odd quirks

Yes, best to build when in the right frame of mind. PCs can be more than frustrating sometimes!

Thanks for the tip.